‘Whatever it takes to inspire people to be creative’

Augusta University faculty, staff, students and alumni are busy beautifying the Augusta area with their artwork.

Just last month, dozens of local artists, including several with ties to Augusta University, participated in the 5th Street Mural Project, sponsored by the Greater Augusta Arts Council.

For an entire week in April, more than 35 artists from Augusta and all over the country painted their murals simultaneously along the abutments lining both sides of 5th Street between Reynolds Street and the 5th Street Freedom Pedestrian Bridge in downtown Augusta.

The public enjoyed watching the artists paint their murals throughout the entire week of April 20-27, and the city celebrated the artists’ accomplishments with a ribbon cutting and festival on Saturday, April 27.

Cyndy Epps, a lecturer of painting and drawing classes in the Department of Art and Design in Pamplin College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, was one of the artists chosen to paint a mural for the 5th Street Mural Project.

Epps’ mural, which is located along 5th Street closer to Reynolds Street, features a dog relaxing on a dock along the Savannah River.

“In my mural, I really wanted to capture a nice, quiet day out by the river,” Epps said. “I have a chair sitting out there with my dog. Unfortunately, we had to have him put down back in February, so I decided, ‘I’m going to memorialize him. I want to put my dog on there.’”

“Then, I included some fishing gear, a cooler, a Masters Tervis tumbler in the cup holder and a fishing hat,” Epps said. “There is an Augusta University button and a ‘Happy’ button from the local artist Leonard ‘Porkchop’ Zimmerman pinned on the hat. So, I have some nods to local things in my mural that people will recognize.”

One of her favorite aspects of painting her mural is the fact that there are a variety of artists from all over the country involved in this project, she said.

“There are so many artists out here with so many different styles,” Epps said. “It is almost like taking a walk through a gallery.”

Inspiring future artists

Aort Reed, an Augusta University alumnus who graduated in 2016, said he always likes to “push and pull with dimensions and space” in his artwork. The mural that he painted for the 5th Street Mural Project is no different, Reed said.

“My mural is an integration of abstract and figurative,” Reed said, pointing to his mural that includes images of bulls, downtown buildings and faces in a crowd. “It’s got some soul, and it represents downtown Augusta a little bit. But all together it’s just an integration of perspectives. I like for people to see it and drift off into windows of different realities and just relate to it in their own way. I never have a meaning for my painting. I want to hear the viewer’s perspective on it.”

Reed, who was born in Augusta, said he is honored to be painting a mural in his hometown.

“I’m born and raised in Augusta, so to be a local creative amongst all the local creatives here is amazing,” Reed said. “We’re just the sum of the parts and want to color the city, color the town and color the world, whatever it takes to inspire people to be creative in whatever way they want.”

These murals in downtown Augusta can inspire future artists to express themselves in many ways, Reed said.

“This is visual art, but you have music, you have dance, you have all these different things and all together, hopefully we can inspire people to be who they truly are in their core,” Reed said. “A lot of times we conform too much, so art tends to get you by yourself as an individual, and you figure out who you really are in this strange world.”

After high school, Reed moved to Atlanta and earned a degree in architectural graphing, but he decided to return home and enroll in Augusta University to get his art degree.

“I came back home in 2009 and decided to pursue what I’ve always been doing all my life: Just drawing everywhere,” Reed said. “I would draw on my closet walls, my grandmother’s cookbooks, everywhere, so it followed me all through life. All in all, art keeps me going. I always tell people, ‘Without art, I don’t know where I would be.’”

Celebrating Augusta

Tripp Gustin, an Augusta University alumnus who graduated with an art degree in the summer of 2023, said this was the first mural he has ever painted. But Gustin said he used his background in graphic design to help him develop his concept.

“I painted the city’s skyline, but I had the idea of having these continuous lines as part of the design,” he said. “If you notice, the city skyline is going through a kind of transition. The line of the skyline transitions into music waves on one side to represent the musical history of the city with James Brown and others. And the other side transitions into a heartbeat monitor to represent the medical community here.”

To many people’s surprise, Gustin received his second bachelor’s degree from Augusta University.

“I am originally from Mobile, Alabama, and my first degree was from the University of Alabama. I graduated in 2012 with a degree in advertising and graphic design,” said Gustin, who currently works for the Greater Augusta Arts Council. “But I started at Augusta University a few years ago, specifically because of the animation program and its director, A.B. Osborne.”

Gustin said he was drawn to Augusta University because he found the hands-on experience and small class sizes appealing.

“I really loved the art department at AU because all of the professors are very personable and they really encourage you to pursue your interests,” Gustin said. “But they also push you to be the best version of yourself. It is a special experience that felt very much like a family in a lot of ways.”

Honoring loved ones

Si-Long Chen, a graduate of the Master of Public Administration program at Augusta University, was also chosen to paint a mural for the 5th Street Mural Project. She painted a mural in honor of her friend, Paul Marsh, who died in a car crash in 2022.

Marsh, a popular local DJ who performed under the moniker DJ Codec, also worked for Information Technology for then-AU Health.

“We knew each other from way back. He had been an iconic person in the Augusta area for years,” Chen said. “Whenever you would see him out, he would wear a flower in his lapel. That little flower always reminds me of him, so that’s why I decided to paint my mural with roses. His death was very unexpected, so I’m glad I had the opportunity to paint this mural to honor him.”

In fact, Chen named her first son after Marsh. In her mural, there is a fully bloomed rose next to a budding rose.

“The big rose is big Paul, and the budding rose is little Paul,” Chen said, smiling. “I want to raise my son to be more like him. Paul was always very chipper, very outgoing and had a good outlook on life. That’s what I want for my son.”

Mayor Garnett Johnson, who is also an alumnus of Augusta University, thanked all the artists involved in the 5th Street Mural Project for their hard work.

“This really warms my heart that this city is so blessed to have great artists to produce great work for us to view and to share on this beautiful venue,” Johnson said to the artists during the April 27 festival. “Thank you all so much for these wonderful pieces that you have created, and we look forward to showing them off to not only our visitors, but all who call this area home.”